Since 2004, the Central Coast Regional Water Quality Control Board has issued multiple agricultural orders that are used to record data on water quality conditions and impose regulations on farmers throughout the region. But a draft of the most recent order, which was released in February, has agricultural groups concerned it could permanently change farming in the region.
“The proposed draft order would create sweeping new regulations related to nitrogen application limits, riparian vegetation requirements, and other significant requirements that go far above and beyond any other similar order in the state,” Claire Wineman, president of the Grower-Shipper Association of Santa Barbara and San Luis Obispo Counties, said in an email to the Sun.
When the Central Coast water board issued the first order in 2004, the agency’s focus was on monitoring the discharge of pollutants from agricultural operations into surface water sources, such as streams and rivers. Christopher Rose, environmental program manager for the board’s Irrigated Lands Regulatory Program, said this monitoring led to increased regulations in the second order, which the board adopted in 2012.
That marked the beginning of the board’s groundwater monitoring effort, which is when the board began to learn about how the fertilizers that farmers use affect groundwater quality, Rose said.
The board adopted a third order in 2017, which ag groups challenged in court. This eventually led to the Sacramento County Superior Court requiring the board to adopt a new order by Jan. 31, 2021. This deadline can’t be extended without a court order, according to a staff report from a January 2020 board meeting.
Rose said this most recent draft order was developed through the water quality monitoring efforts the board has completed over the years. During the course of its groundwater quality monitoring, he said the board has found that 30 percent of the wells sampled have been impacted by nitrate, which is associated with the use of fertilizers that have high levels of nitrogen.
To reduce the amount of pollutants affecting water quality, the order includes discharge limits farmers must meet and a time frame to do so. In 2022 and 2024, the draft order identifies nitrogen discharge targets. But years 2026 through 2050 include limits farmers must meet.
According to the draft order, in 2022 farmers should target discharging up to 500 pounds of nitrogen per acre per year. By 2050, farmers would be limited to discharging 50 pounds of nitrogen per acre per year. The order also includes limits on how much nitrogen farmers can apply to specific crops starting in 2022.
Rose said aside from these limits on nitrogen, there are limits on pesticides and other pollutants in the order to try to restore the water quality on the Central Coast. And these limits are enforceable, although in the past they’ve rarely resulted in a fine.
He said most compliance issues are resolved with a simple violation notice.
“What we need to do is balance achieving water quality protection as soon as possible with the ability of growers to innovate so that they comply with these requirements,” Rose said.
But Wineman said even if farmers use the best technology available, it’s not possible to comply with the regulations outlined in the order. The limits and time frame are just too stringent.
Kevin Merrill, who grows wine grapes and serves as the water committee chairman for the Santa Barbara County Farm Bureau, said that certain crops, such as vegetables, require more nitrogen than others, which means the limits in the order will be harder for some farmers to reach. Additionally, he said farmers only use the amount of fertilizer needed and don’t apply it excessively.
“All farmers don’t want to waste money,” Merrill said. “Farmers don’t want to use more nitrogen than they have to.”
Merrill also questioned how the board can come up with limits that apply over such a large region as the Central Coast, which stretches along the ocean from Santa Cruz County to Santa Barbara County. There are certain areas, such as the Salinas and Santa Maria valleys, where nitrate levels in water are much higher than others, he said.
“It’s complicated to come out with something that’s doable for all ag,” Merrill said.
Rose said the board acknowledges there are differences between some parts of the region, but that the water quality standards outlined in the order are uniform throughout. How farmers achieve these standards may vary throughout the region, he said, but all growers must meet these regulations if the order is adopted.
“Some areas may have challenges because of pesticide discharge, and other areas may have issues related to nitrogen in surface water and groundwater,” Rose said. “But generally speaking, where you have intensive ag occurring, we have an associated water quality problem.”
When the board released the draft order in February, it also announced plans for three public workshop meetings in March throughout the region. Those meetings were canceled because of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Rose said he’s working on setting up virtual workshops for the beginning of June.
After these workshops, the board will host four meetings later this summer where the public can weigh in on the plan. Rose said that despite the COVID-19 delays, the order is still on track to be adopted by Jan. 31, 2021.
Wineman said her association and other ag groups will continue to engage in this public process to hopefully improve aspects of the order they find too stringent. Ultimately though, she said, it’ll probably lead to an appeals process where the order goes to the State Water Resources Control Board.
“We continue to urge the water board to adopt an ag order that continues to improve water quality while also protecting domestic food production and local jobs and economies,” Wineman said.
Reach Staff Writer Zac Ezzone at zezzone@santamariasun.com.
This article appears in May 7-14, 2020.
